what is the impact of the attorney general's lawsuit on our approach?

We are still digesting and discussing the Attorney General's lawsuit against Chesapeake, but our preliminary take is as follows:

1. We see the Attorney General's lawsuit as good news for royalty owners in general, and for our clients in particular, for several reasons. Importantly, the AG's lawsuit serves to confirm many of the facts underlying the claims we are asserting, and in that respect to validate our claims. At the same time, the AG's lawsuit is NOT by any means a replacement or substitute for the group actions and arbitrations that we are pursuing, because: (a) for most royalty owners in Pennsylvania, Chesapeake is only one of the multiple gas companies that are taking impermissible and/or excessive and unreasonable deductions from their royalties for post-production costs (or engaging in improper pricing); (b) we are going after ALL of the gas companies taking impermissible and/or excessive or unreasonable deductions, not just Chesapeake; and (c) we are also bringing statutory antitrust and RICO conspiracy claims, which may result in the recovery of additional damages against Chesapeake and Williams, as well as the other gas companies involved.

2. We see the claims we are bringing in our group actions and arbitrations as complementary to those being brought by the Attorney General's Office, and as providing ADDED VALUE to our clients, in the form of potential additional recoveries over and above the amounts that the Attorney General is seeking.

3. We will not be charging our clients any contingent legal fee with respect to any monies recovered for our clients by the Attorney General's Office. As a result, if the Attorney General's action is successful, it will save our clients money, by permitting them to avoid the need to pay attorneys' fees on any recovery that the Attorney General's Office is able to obtain from Chesapeake and/or Williams, while still getting the benefit of the potential additional recoveries on the separate claims which we are continuing to pursue.